"Death's Door" Book Talk with Barbara Joosse and Renee Graef

Cedarburg Public Library and Wisconsin Historical Society Press welcomes bestselling author Barbara Joosse and illustrator Renée Graef to discuss their new book, Death's Door: True Tales of Tragedy, Mystery, and Bravery from the Great Lakes’ Most Dangerous Waters on Saturday, October 28th from 1-2:30pm. 

This beautifully illustrated graphic novel for children ages 8–11 relates dramatic moments from Great Lakes maritime history. The book’s five true stories span four centuries but take place in one location: a stretch of water near Lake Michigan’s notoriously dangerous western shore known as “Death’s Door.”

Young readers will devour these tales of tragic accidents, mysterious disappearances, and heroic moments. The stories feature a 17th-century fur trading crew, an 18th-century Potawatomi trading party, a mail carrier and a shipbuilding family from the 19th century, and an early 20th-century basketball team. The narrator is Death’s Door itself, who wonders why people insist on crossing its treacherous waters, concluding it is “because they are human. Ambitious and restless…but loving too.”

Books will be available for sale and signing.